Jill: Amy, what can you tell us about classical Chinese?
Amy: Classical Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese that is based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient China. It is different from the Chinese that is used today, which is known as vernacular Chinese, or 白话 (bái huà).
While we use 你 (nǐ) or 您 (nín) to address another person today, people in ancient China often address others as 君 (jūn). The character 君 was sometimes used in ancient China to refer to the emperor. It was also used to refer to a gentleman of good standing.
Other patterns of speech that are considered to be part of classical Chinese include:
何处 (hé chǔ), which means 'where'
何时 (hé shí), which means 'when' and
为何 (wèi hé), which means 'why' or 'for what'.
Note:
The character 君 could mean monarch, lord, gentleman, or ruler. However, 君 is not really gender-specific, so it could also be used to address a woman. One example of a case in which it was used to refer to a woman rather than a man is in the poem 'The Song of the Lute Player' (琵琶行), where the poet refers to the lute player as 君 twice in his verses. In ancient China, addressing another person as 君 was meant as a sign of respect for that person.
The characters 你 (nǐ) and 您 (nín) both mean 'you'. But 您 is the formal version of 你. 您 is often used to address a person who is one's senior or whose rank is above oneself.
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